Covered Bridge Park will be filled with the sounds of banjos and fiddles on Friday as three bluegrass bands take the stage for the Covered Bridge Celebration.

Opening the evening at 5 p.m. will be Boots on the Ground, a bluegrass band formed in 2012 with members from Kingsport and Rogersville.

While the band members are young, they bring a wealth of music knowledge and experience to the stage with their high-energy traditional style bluegrass and bluegrass gospel music.

The band members include Colton Powers on the banjo, Ryan Henard on mandolin, Cayce Herron on lead guitar, Beecher Powers on rhythm guitar, and David Henard on dog house bass.

Herron is currently enrolled in East Tennessee State University’s Bluegrass, Old Time, and Country Music Program. Colton Powers graduated from that program in May with a bachelor of arts degree in Bluegrass, Old Time, and Country Music. Henard currently attends Cherokee High School and is dual enrolled with Walters State Community College where he is working with college staff to help launch a bluegrass program.

Taking the stage at 6:30 Friday will be Mountain Rose, a five-member bluegrass band calling Roan Mountain home.

Mountain Rose plays a variety of genres, mostly rock and folk music done with a bluegrass touch as well as some traditional bluegrass and gospel songs.

The band members include Rick Holtsclaw on guitar, Tammy Perry on banjo, Randy Grindstaff on bass, Jerome Webb on mandolin, and David Johnson on guitar. All five members of Mountain Rose contribute to the band’s vocals.

Wrapping up the musical performances for the evening will be Blue Highway, who will take the stage at 8 p.m.

The Kingsport-based group is world renowned and has captured many musical accolades and awards over the years. Among the group’s many are three Grammy Award wins and three Grammy Award nominations, including a Best Bluegrass Album nod this year for their album Original Traditional.

The group and its members also have 26 International Bluegrass Music Association Awards, six Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music of America Awards, one Dove Award and were voted the Favorite Bluegrass Artist of All Time in 2016 by the readers of Bluegrass Today.

Blue Highway is in their 22nd year together, and they continue to build on a rich legacy carried on by three powerhouse songwriters and vocalists in Tim Stafford, Wayne Taylor, and Shawn Lane, whose harmonies soar above the dynamic banjo of Jason Burleson and the explosive dobro of Gaven Largent.

All three performances are free and open to the public as part of the annual Covered Bridge Celebration.